Of Silly Crushes, Demented Friends and Dinner
by LynnEve
Summary: Best friends always meddle. Even when you don't want them too. Candlestickshipping, because there just isn't enough of it. StevenxFlannery Silliness is fun.


_**I'm a huge fan of these two, and it disappoints me that there's only one story on them. Even more the only fic is a couple years old and unfinished. There was another, but it got deleted for some reason. I've had this one sitting around my computer for a while, and until recently I haven't had the courage to post fanfics. But, I'm giving them a try. To the very few fans of this shipping, I hope you enjoy.**_

**Of Silly Crushes, Demented Friends and Dinner**

It was silly and completely stupid. She knew she shouldn't have such feelings for him, but none the less she did. To make matters worse, she felt like a school girl crushing on the most popular guy around.

Flannery hated it.

"I'm a freaking adult!" she cried out, so very un-adult like before burying her head in a lump of pillows. "I shouldn't be having butterflies in my stomach and turning red every time I just see him. It's so stupid and unfair." She groaned into a throw pillow.

Winona couldn't help but giggle at the younger woman's actions. They were curled up on a couch in her home, and Flannery had come to visit for the weekend.

"He's cute. I can see why you'd be crushing."

Flannery grumbled as she shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch. "You're not making me feel any better, I hope you know."

"Why should I? There isn't anything to feel horrible about." Winona replied. She took a sip of her tea and eyed the red head. "You can't help who you like and how they affect you. _Trust_ me. I know."

Flannery peeked at Winona. "Are you talking about Wallace?"

Winona held back a wince and a curt reply. She technically had been the one to bring up that very uncomfortable subject, but Flannery didn't have to be so blunt about it.

"Yes, I'm talking about Wallace," Winona replied. "Despite everything I still like the guy, and I don't really want to."

"Why not?" Flannery asked as she reached for one of the cookies on the coffee table. "He still loves you, doesn't he? I mean he gave up being the Champion to stay with you," she said as she chewed on the cookie.

Winona sighed. "He may have, but he also made some stupid decisions and actions that hurt me. I don't know if I have it in me to forgive him yet." She placed her cup of tea on the table before continuing, "And anyways, this isn't about my horrible, failing love life. It's about you, and you're school girl crush," she said with a smirk.

Flannery groaned again. "Please, just because it is a lot like a school girl crush, doesn't mean you have to call it that. It just makes me feel more embarrassed about the whole thing." She once again buried her head in the pillows.

Winona leaned over and patted her on the back. "It's perfectly fine to feel the way you do. How about you try asking him out?"

Flannery snorted. "That's supposed to solve my problem how?"

"If he says yes, then he may like you. If he says no, then you're screwed and doomed to pine after a guy that knows you have a crush on him." Winona replied.

"You're horrible at consoling people, you know that?"

"Hey, I'm not the one crushing on the Champion of Hoenn."

--

Flannery really felt tempted to kill Winona, regardless of how close they were as friends.

"I'm not doing this," she defiantly stated. "I'm not asking someone else to help me get a guy. It's pathetic."

"You asked me, didn't you?" Winona questioned.

Flannery glowered. "I didn't ask you to help me get Steven. I simply told you how I liked him and felt childish over it. There was no mentioning of asking him out, _ever_. At least not by me."

Winona rolled her eyes. "You know, I don't think it's the crush that's having you act childishly. Now, just ring the door bell, or _I_ will."

Flannery eyed the little button and then eyed Winona who stared back sternly. After a few seconds she opted it was a good idea to ring it herself.

_Ding-Dong._

"Just a second!" A muffled voice called from the other side of the closed door.

Flannery sucked in a breath of air and held it. _'Here goes nothing.'_

A second later the door flew open to reveal a brunette in a navy dress.

"Oh, hi you two," Roxanne greeted with a smile. "What's up?"

Winona smiled as she reached to hold Flannery's arm, preventing her from running away. "Can we come in? We need your help."

Roxanne nodded and stepped back to let the two in. She closed the door and led them to her front room.

"What can I do for you?" she asked she took a seat in a leather recliner. Winona and Flannery had taken the loveseat beside it.

When Flannery didn't speak up, Winona elbowed her.

"Ow," Flannery whined as she rubbed her side. "What was that for?"

"Tell Roxanne," Winona whispered.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what?"

Flannery blushed a light pink and looked down at her lap. "It's… nothing."

"It's not 'nothing'," Winona stated, "Flannery likes Steven."

Roxanne stared confusingly at the two before bursting out into laughter. "We're not talking about Steven Stone, are we?"

Flannery scowled. "So what if we are!" She crossed her arms with 'hmph'. "I told you this was a stupid idea."

Winona, who had also broke out into laughter, rubbed the tears from her eyes and tried to calm down. "It's not a stupid idea, just wait and see." She said to Flannery before turning back to Roxanne, who had also sobered up, "we wanted to know if you could help us?"

Roxanne grinned. "Of course I'll help."

--

As if one crazed person wasn't enough, Flannery now had two. Two very demented women who were convinced she was the most interesting thing around at the current moment and thus decided to give her their full (unwanted) attention.

"How did this escalate so far, so fast?" Flannery asked herself. Two days ago, no one knew she liked Steven. Now, Winona, Roxanne and even Brawly knew! Curse Roxanne for her big gossiping mouth. God knows who else knew by now.

"Flannery?" Winona's voice came crackly through the ear piece Flannery wore.

It had been Roxanne's idea to use them for communication as Winona and her stayed hidden and kept a look out for Steven. That and along with the silly plan came a dress that had Flannery feeling very uncomfortable.

'_What are we? Spies?' _Flannery thought as she rolled her eyes. "What?"

"He's coming."

It felt like a stone had dropped in Flannery's stomach.

'_Damn it!' _she cursed. _'I'm not sixteen anymore, I can act mature and level headed about thi—'_

"Flannery, is that you?"

Flannery was sure the way she turned looked as if it'd be edited by special effects to appear in slow motion. There behind her looking just as handsome and sexy as always was Steven Stone.

"Hiii, Steven," Flannery nervously greeted. "What a… pleasant surprise."

He smiled sweetly and Flannery felt her insides melt.

"I was just on my way to see Wallace. What are you doing here?" He asked.

'_Crap. Excuse. I need an excuse,' _Flannery thought as she tried to find some explanation other than the fact that she was technically stalking him. Through her ear she could hear the faint snickers of Winona and Roxanne.

"I'm on my way to see Wallace too," she finally blurted out when nothing better came to mind.

He tilted his head ever so slightly. "He called you as well?"

"Yeah," she hurriedly replied with a nervous laugh.

'_Why me, God?' _she inwardly asked, '_and why him of all people?'_

"Then, would you like to accompany me?" Steven politely asked. "After all, we're both heading in the same direction." He smiled again and this time Flannery was sure her brain had turned to a goopy mush.

"Mhmm," was all she could muster up to reply.

--

Walking beside him was hard. Flannery wanted so badly to reach out and grab his hand or just touch him.

'_As if stalking him wasn't enough, now I feel like a sick pervert.' _

"So, what have you been up to?" Steven asked breaking Flannery's train of thought.

"There haven't been many challengers at the Lavaridge Gym, so I came to visit Winona for the weekend, but she asked me to stay a few more days."

"You two are really good friends," he said with a laugh.

"Yeaah," Flannery responded. Inwardly she was still deciding which way she'd get revenge on the purple haired gym leader for the stunts she kept pulling. "How about you, what have you been up to?"

Steven sighed. "There's been a lot going on with all the damage that still needs repairing. Team Magma and Aqua did a number to Hoenn and it's going to take a lot of effort to get it back to normal." His face became distorted with pain and Flannery felt something yank on her heart.

She couldn't bear to look at him when he made a face like that; so she stared at her feet instead.

It was true, there was still so much that need to be repaired, and sometimes she even thought that there were some things that just couldn't be repaired. Hoenn would never truly really be the same.

"Ah!" Steven's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "We're here." He once again looked like his polite, cherry-self.

Of course, it also distracted her from thinking about the tight spot she'd just gotten herself into.

Before Steven could knock and before Flannery could come up with some excuse to run away, the door was wrenched open to reveal a very smug looking Wallace.

"About time you two showed up!" He exclaimed.

Flannery's face paled. _'What's going on? He wasn't supposed to know I was coming.'_

"Well, don't just stand there looking stupid, you two. Come in!" He pulled them both in before slamming the door shut. "I've been expecting you two. Flannery go sit down." He waved his hand in the direction of two couches, and sitting on one of them was a Winona, grinning like a madwoman.

"Hi, you two," she said with a wave. She patted the spot next to her.

A very confused Flannery was yanked away from the entryway by Wallace before being half thrown down beside Winona.

"You two chat for awhile. I need to discuss something with Steven," and with that Wallace led Steven out of the room leaving the two women alone.

When Flannery finally came out of her daze she turned on Winona with a glare. "What are you doing here," she hissed out.

Winona snorted. "Why not change that tone and attitude. I just saved you from looking like an idiot in front Steven."

"That doesn't explain why you're here."

Winona looked at Flannery with a raised eyebrow. "I heard you tell Steven you were coming to Wallace's over the mic, and since it wasn't true, I decided make it true," she explained. "I rushed over here to make it so it would appear as if you were actually coming over. Just not for Wallace, but for me instead. Though… Wallace kinda knows about you liking Steven now."

Flannery's face turned ghost white before she yelled, "YOU TOLD HIM!!?"

"Shhhhh," Winona shushed her. "I had to; he wanted to know why I suddenly showed up, and why I _had _to be here when Steven came."

"But, but couldn't you have told him something else? Some stupid lie?" Flannery whined as she buried her face in her hands. Who was going to find out she liked Steven next, _Wattson_?

"Sorry, I couldn't lie to him. Besides he can help too. He _**is **_Steven's best friend after all."

"That's exactly why I didn't want him to know in the first place!"

"You two ladies sure sound lively," Wallace said as he came back, Steven following behind him. "What could you _possibly _be talking about that could get you so riled up?"

Oh, Flannery was going to kill Winona, in the most brutal way possible. Wallace was known to be merciless at teasing, and she was probably never going to hear the end of it now that he knew.

"_Nothing," _Flannery hissed out. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Winona holding in laughter. _'Damn demented witch!'_

A beeping caught everyone's attention and they all turned to look at the source.

"Haha, sorry," Steven quickly apologized as he pulled out his pokenav. "I've got to take this, it's important," he said before walking in the direction of the back of the house.

Wallace took this opportunity to once again tease Flannery. "So, Steven, eh?"

"Shut up," Flannery hissed. "I don't want to hear a thing from you. I get enough from Roxanne and Winona as it is, and they haven't even known longer than two days," she grumbled.

"Haha, don't be that way. I think the fact you like him is wonderful. He can finally have a relationship with someone instead of devoting all of his time to Hoenn."

"Isn't that his job?"

"Yeah, but he takes it to an extreme. He never talks about girls or dates. I don't even think he goes on them."

Flannery felt her heart drop. "That's wonderful… I think I want to go home now." If he never showed any interest in other girls, then he certainly wouldn't show an interest in her. Being here was pointless.

"Wait," Winona stood up, "don't go. And you," she turned on Wallace with a glare, "don't say stuff like that. Can't you think before you speak, for once?!"

"Forget it, Winona," Flannery stood up too, "I knew it was stupid from the beginning. I'm going home."

Before anyone could stop her she rushed out the front door.

--

It had been a week since Flannery had gone to Winona's, and five days since she'd rushed out of Wallace's house. After five minutes of pointless running, she'd broken down crying.

Winona, Roxanne and even Wallace had all tried calling her on her pokenav, but she'd ignored them and carried on like nothing had ever happened.

So, when the knock came at her front door, she thought it was one of the three. Before even checking to see who it was, she threw open the door and yelled, "Go away! Can't you take a hint?"

"I most certainly can, and no, I won't go away," Steven replied from his spot on her porch.

Flannery felt like dying at that very moment. A deep scarlet blush broke out across her face, and she could do nothing but gawk.

"Why," she finally got out after a while.

"Why am I here," Steven began, "or why I won't go away?"

"Both…" Flannery replied weakly.

"I'm here because I've been pestered to death by two very persistent women and one very obnoxious man."

Flanner paled. "They told you." It wasn't a question.

"That would be why I'm not going away," Steven replied. "Can I come in?"

Flannery debated for a few seconds before stepping away from the doorway. "Sure."

Steven stepped in, and Flannery closed the door.

"Can you explain why you're here in a clearer way?"

"Well, a week ago I got a strange call from Winona and Roxanne asking me if I would go on a date with you," Steven began, "and I agreed. Of course it surprised me that I ran into you the day after. And then no sooner had we gotten to Wallace's place did he pull me aside, telling me I was to take you some place nice for dinner - no if, ands or buts about it - confusing me entirely. But before I could even talk to you about it, you suddenly disappeared."

Flannery once again could do nothing but gawk. She couldn't decide what to be angry over or surprised about more. The fact that Winona and Roxanne had _called_ him asking such a thing, the fact that Wallace had pretty much ordered Steven to take her out, or the fact that he had agreed to a date.

"but… wait… I," she stumbled over finding the right words. There was nothing she could think to say that sounded at all appropriate after such a blunt confession. Finally she settled on what she really felt, "I'm so confused."

Steven, sweet always-smiling-Steven, smirked. "So, would you care to go to dinner?"

_**Didn't quite end as well as I'd have liked, but I sat on it for days without a better idea.**_


End file.
